


Help Will Always Be Given To Those Who Deserve It

by Ilentari



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Minor Angst, Other, Sentient Voltron Lions, Shiro has PTSD, Voltron Lions as Humans, he's not coping well but he's trying, mostly they/them pronouns for the black lion, ooc? Ye a, the lions can shape shift, wow another piece of trash for the dump
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-08
Updated: 2018-10-10
Packaged: 2019-07-28 04:24:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,804
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16234139
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ilentari/pseuds/Ilentari
Summary: (Set in the first episode of season 2) What if Keith had been knocked unconscious in the crash and unable to help Shiro from those monsters? What if someone else had had to step in?"He tensed, preparing himself for the inevitable, when the tusked creatures paused, turning away and snarling loudly at something. Shiro heard a challenging roar, confusion freezing him in place. It sounded like...a lion? Like an EARTH lion. How in the hell...?"





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Another one I dragged out of my garbage notes!!! Hell yeah
> 
> Like always it's set back in season 2 bc I haven't seen anything past that. I use mostly they/them for the black lion and occasionally he/him
> 
> Brownie points if anyone gets where the title is referenced from lol it's an easy one I think

Shiro released a shaky breath, hand clutched tightly to the wound at his side. He scrambled as far back into the tight space as he could, staring out through the hole at the purplish creatures that prowled outside. If only he hadn't lost his damn helmet while trying to escape them then he might've been able to contact someone. As it was he had no idea where Keith had landed and if he was alright.

Shiro determined to find Keith when—if—he managed to get out of his current situation. For the moment he leaned his head back, trying to keep his panic under control as the creatures began to get louder. His pulse spiked as two of the creatures began scrabbling at the rocks, widening the hole bit by bit. Shiro tensed, preparing himself for the inevitable, when the tusked creatures paused, turning away and snarling loudly at something.

Shiro heard a challenging roar, confusion freezing him in place. It sounded like...a lion? Like an EARTH lion. How in the hell...?

His thoughts were interrupted by a creature slamming into the the rock formation he was hiding in. Whatever it was out there those things were losing, and Shiro had no interest in facing whatever it was that could drive away a group of these beasts.

But what could he do? He wouldn't get far with his injury. Perhaps the newcomer didn't even know Shiro was there and would focus on the creatures outside. With that possibility being his main hope Shiro huddled up, scarcely breathing in hopes of not attracting attention.

The fight barely lasted two minutes, Shiro sitting frozen in the dead silence that followed until a human form blocked the entrance to his hideaway. "Shiro?" The voice was deep, seeming to reverberate through Shiro's entire body. It was authoritative and yet gentle, commanding Shiro's attention but calming him down in a way he did not expect.

Shiro shifted, trying to get a better view of the person calling him. "Who are you?! How do you know my name?"

The person reached in and offered their hand to Shiro. "Peace young one, you know me. Come out."

He did know them. He didn't know how but Shiro felt like he did, and that he could trust them. So Shiro took the hand, allowing himself to be pulled out into the open.

Blinking a few times to readjust to the brightness Shiro stared up at his rescuer, his thanks dying on the tip of his tongue.

The man(?) was huge. Easily as tall as Zarkon himself and well built with skin quite a few shades darker than Allura's. His black hair was in dreadlocks, the majority of it pulled back into a pseudo-ponytail. And when Shiro met his eyes, he swore he stopped breathing for a moment; brilliant gold irises stared back at him, with pupils more oval shaped than a human's.

"Who are you?" Shiro asked again, his voice hushed.

The man reached out, cradling Shiro's face in his palms. "You know me," he repeated softly.

Shiro's protest never made it out as a familiar presence flared to life in his mind. He gasped, eyes widening in shock. "Black?!" Shiro's gaze moved from the humanoid before him to the hulking mass of the black lion a little ways off. "What? How?"

"I can take many forms Shiro, I am a being comprised mostly of quintessence. The mechanical body was simply designed for me to reside in."

"Why now though? Why only now do you appear to me like this?"

The (man? Lion?) being simply shook his head. "You needed me." He reached down, moving Shiro's hand aside to inspect his wound. Black released low growl at the sight. "Haggar...Come, we need to clean this." He wrapped an arm around Shiro, carefully avoiding the wound and began leading him back to the ship.

 

Shiro sat compliantly on the floor of the lion, watching Black sift through an emergency medkit. "I'm still confused," he admitted.

"What do you want to know?" Black turned back to him, gentle hands helping to remove Shiro's armour and shirt.

Shiro sighed, running a shaky hand through his hair. "I guess I just...knew you were sentient to some degree but I didn't expect this. I—what are you exactly? Why do you inhabit the lion?"

"Shh," Black hushed as Shiro let out a pained grunt when the antiseptic spray came in contact with his wound. "I am...a cosmic entity I suppose you could say. A being born from the unique quintessence of an exploded star. I was unable to take form, simply a shifting mass of quintessence until Alfor came upon me." Black spoke as he wrapped bandages around Shiro's abdomen. "He built the black lion as an anchor for me, something I could tie my quintessence to. The lion is my physical "body" and keeps me grounded in the universe. As a result of being tied to it I now have the ability to shift my quintessence into a physical form of my choosing, and that is what you see now."

"But, if you're here and not in the lion, how does that work?"

"Think of the lion as being a part of me now; while I can project myself outside of it my quintessence never truly leaves it, there is always a "strand" you could say, of quintessence that connects me to the lion even when out of it," Black explained patiently as he began removing his own shirt.

"Woah, wait. What are you doing?" Shiro asked incredulously.

Black looked at him strangely. "Your shirt is ruined, and you shouldn't put your armour back on with your injury. I do not want you to be cold or uncomfortable."

"You can't just go around with no shirt!" Shiro protested.

Black snorted. "I do not have the same taboos about nudity you human's have." He coaxed Shiro into his shirt, helping him put it on without aggravating his side too much. "But if it would make you feel better I can always conjure another shirt for myself."

"Please," Shiro muttered, occupied with staring down at himself while Black cleaned up the medkit. It had been a long time since Shiro had worn a shirt that was large on him and he marvelled at the way the sleeves half covered his hands. Out of some strange impulse Shiro brought his hands to his face, breathing in the deeply. Black smelled like...home. Shiro honestly didn't know what to call home now. He would claim earth but, his home there had been lost since his capture.

He was quickly brought out of his thoughts when he realized Black had settled next to him again. "Sorry!" Shiro squeaked, feeling his face burn with embarrassment.

"What are you sorry for?" Black genuinely looked confused.

"That was probably kind of weird. No it was definitely weird, I'm sorry. I don't know what came over me." Shiro avoided Black's eyes, playing with the hem of the shirt.

"There is nothing wrong in taking comfort in the scent of your pride's leader," Black replied, "The bond between us is strong, I see nothing that should make you uncomfortable."

Shiro sheepishly looked up at Black. "Well that's...good to know I guess." His lion huffed in amused exasperation, reaching out and pulling Shiro into him.

"You worry too much young one." The words were murmured into Shiro's ear, and Shiro's own arms quickly came up in reciprocation, clutching onto the back of Black's new shirt. He felt...safe. Warm. Black felt like home, and Shiro rested his head on his shoulder in contentment.

"Thank you," Shiro said softly, eyes slipping shut as he relaxed against his lion.

Black buried their face into Shiro's hair. "I could not save my previous paladin, and I could not stop him either. I refuse to lose another paladin."

Shiro remained silent for a while, revelling in the comfort while he could get it as Black cooed and ran soothing hands over him. Unfortunately a few minutes later a communications alert interrupted the moment and Shiro pulled away, Black assisting him in standing as he made his way over to the control board.

"Keith? Keith?!"

"Shiro!" Keith's voice came through sounding relieved.

"Keith are you alright?"

"Yeah, I think so. I was knocked unconscious during the crash but I don't think I have a concussion or anything, just a bit scraped up." Shiro sighed in relief at the news. "How about you? I've been trying to reach you through your helmet but there was no answer, and communications were down in your lion."

"Black was...out of commission for a while. We're ok now. What's your location?"

"Currently on my way to you," Keith stated, "Red was offline for a while too but we're good now."

"Alright, I'll see you here in a little while then." Shiro ended the call after Keith's confirmation. He turned towards Black who had been flitting around the cockpit adjusting things. "I'm going out to find my helmet."

His lion frowned at him. "No, you're absolutely not." They waved a hand at Shiro's sputtered protests. "Give me a moment to get back online and working and I will go retrieve your helmet."

Shiro rolled his eyes. "My side got scratched up, I'm not an invalid."

"Stay here Shiro." The words once again reverberated through Shiro, something in Black's tone automatically making him want to obey. He nodded mutely at his lion, sitting down in the pilot's seat to wait.

Black was only gone for a handful of minutes, returning with Shiro's helmet under their arm. "The red paladin is almost here, I will reconnect with the ship to get it running properly again," Black informed him as they passed over Shiro's helmet.

"You're leaving?" Shiro asked, mixed feelings swirling through him about losing this new version of Black. The connection to his lion felt stronger than ever when Black was around him, and Shiro had never met a person whose presence soothed him like Black's. He knew Black had to connect to the lion again sometime, but he didn't want to lose the comforting feeling of home Black gave him.

"I never truly leave you Shiro." Black ran a hand through Shiro's hair as they spoke. "I'm always with you, our bond ensures that. This will not be the last time you see me like this."

Shiro nodded as the red lion appeared in their line of vision. "Alright, thank you for your help." Black simply shook their head as they chuckled, fading from sight in front of Shiro.

Moments later the lion sprung to life around him, lights coming on as the black lion stood from where it had been crashed on the ground. Black's presence dulled in Shiro's mind, but Shiro had no time to think of it as he made his way out of his lion to meet Keith.

Later, when the two Paladins rested by a fire together, Keith questioned Shiro. "Where did you get that shirt? That's not yours is it?"

"...It's complicated."


	2. Angst and Fluff Folks, Angst and Fluff

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I apparently have a thing for Black and Shiro cuddling in bed

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> People enjoyed the first bit so I figured I'll just post the rest of what I had for this fic for y'all
> 
> Everything here was so majorly self indulgent when I wrote it lol

It had been a few days since everyone had been found and the team was still recovering their energy from the events that had happened.

Or at least, some of them were recovering. After the battle Pidge was more determined than ever to find her family, throwing herself into helping Coran with whatever repairs needed to be done on the ship. Allura was in her usual state of stress, spending almost every waking hour searching for planets that needed help and creating hundreds of (somewhat ludicrous) plans to bring down the Galra.

And Shiro? Shiro was keeping his normal routine, acting like everything was ok and encouraging the others to do their best. He had gotten so good at faking it that most times he could almost convince himself he was alright. At least until nightfall came—or the ship's schedule for when "night" was.

Shiro would do his best to sleep, trying to convince himself he could get through one more night. But some nights when the castle felt huge in its emptiness and Shiro felt his demons creeping around every corner...on those nights when his usual coping methods didn't work, Shiro found himself in the training room.

Except this night he didn't. Tonight when he jolted awake, a scream dying on his lips and sweat beading on his forehead, Shiro could only think of the warmth of Black's presence. And so without conscious thought he ended up making his way to his lion's hangar, mind still caught up in dark memories until a rumble pulled him into the present.

Shiro blinked for a moment, surprised to find himself standing in front of his lion, shivers still racking his body as Black allowed him entry. Shiro huddled up in the pilot's seat, leeching comfort from the presence of his lion that burst forth from where it usually remained in the back of Shiro's mind. Their bond thrummed to life as Black's confusion and concern swept over Shiro, allowing him to relax a little more in his seat.

"Hey," he mumbled tiredly, "I hope you don't mind, I'm just gonna stay here for a while." Shiro waved away an insistent flare of worry. "It's fine. I'm fine. Everything's ok." He wasn't quite sure if the words had been meant for his lion or himself, but Shiro clung to them as he tried to calm himself down.

"Shiro?" The deep voice jolted Shiro out of the trance he had fallen into, but he relaxed almost at the same time he startled. His lion's soothing voice washed over him as the being approached his chair. "What are you doing here Shiro? You should be resting."

Shiro curled up into a ball, wrapping his arms around his legs. "I can't sleep. It's ok though, just...let me stay here please?"

"You need to sleep in a real bed Shiro." Shiro withered at the disapproval in Black's tone. A hand rested gently on his head soon after. "This isn't good for you."

"This is better for me then sleeping in my bed would be." Shiro insisted. "Just let me be, I will be fine here."

"You don't sound fine." Black pointed out, taking in Shiro's laboured breathing and shaking frame.

"I can—I can deal with this. I have to deal with this." Shiro's arms came up to cage around his head, trying to keep himself grounded in the present with his lion's voice.

A heavy sigh sounded from above Shiro before warm arms surrounded him. "You don't have to deal with everything on your own my dear paladin." After a few moments of resistance Black managed to uncurl Shiro, pressing their chests together. Shiro felt the steady rhythm beneath him and began automatically trying to copy it, breathing in and out deeply with his lion until his heart rate slowed.

"I'm sorry," Shiro cried quietly.

"Shh, there is nothing to apologize for." Black's hand soothed up and down Shiro's spine, rubbing up the base of his neck and into his hairline until their paladin went boneless against them. "You must go back to bed now."

"NO." Shiro blushed at unintended shout. "I—I won't be able to fall back asleep now."

"You need to at least try and rest more," Black stated decisively, "you must take better care of yourself."

Shiro snorted. "Either I stay in here for the rest of the night or you kick me out and I go to the training room."

Black grasped Shiro's chin firmly, forcing him to make eye contact. "I would never, never reject you Shiro. I only want what's best for you."

"One night of missed sleep won't kill me."

"Perhaps not, but avoiding your problem isn't the answer."

"I'm not avoiding," Shiro protested, "I'm coping."

"Mm, poorly."

Shiro sighed shakily, shifting anxiously. "I'm sorry Black, but I can't do it. I'll—"

"I will stay with you." Black interrupted, and Shiro gaped at his lion. Black left no chance for argument as they slid their arms under Shiro, lifting him easily and carrying him out of the cockpit.

Shiro was shocked into silence. No one had carried him since he was a child, and he felt incredibly small curled in Black's arms. Which, really wasn't that strange considering how large the lion was compared to humans, but regardless it was a feeling Shiro was stranger to. It wasn't bad by any means, and he tried to push aside any embarrassment he felt, concentrating on the peace he got from being so close to his lion.

"Do you even know where my room is?" Shiro spoke quietly as he turned his face into Black's chest.

"I have a vague idea, but you'll need to point me to the exact location," Black replied, footsteps eerily silent as they made their way through the castle. After a bit of directing from Shiro they made it to the right place, locking the door behind them and gently placing their paladin on the bed. Black tugged off Shiro's socks and the shirt he had thrown on before racing to his lion's hangar. They pushed Shiro back, settling in beside him and lifting the covers over the both of them.

Black pulled Shiro into their chest, keeping their grip on him loose so he wouldn't feel constricted and softly stroked through his hair. "Tell me about it," they requested simply.

"I can't," Shiro whispered.

"You need to talk about this Shiro, and if you won't go to any of your teammates then you're going to talk to me."

"I couldn't bother anyone with this." Shiro shook his head. "They're young, they don't need to be weighed down with my shit."

"You are young too little paladin," Black reminded him gently, "You can't keep this inside forever, it will destroy you."

Shiro's breathing grew laboured. "I don't want to think about it, I don't—I don't want to remember."

"We can take it a little at a time, but you must talk about this, you need to face it before you can begin to heal." Black insisted, cooing quietly at their paladin as Shiro trembled in their arms.

"I don't think there's any healing from this," Shiro muttered bitterly.

"Of course there is," Black soothed, "It will leave behind scars but you will heal, slowly. Now, what was this dream of yours about? Let's start with just that for tonight."

Shiro shifted uncomfortably, trying to form words in the silence. Black waited patiently as Shiro took a few minutes to gather himself. "It was just a memory." He began cautiously. "Of the—of the arena. I don't...the memory is hazy, I mostly just remember how it felt; the enthusiasm and jeering of the crowd, the adrenaline and fear running through me, the pain and desperation and...the victory." He paused, forcing out his next words. "I won in this dream, and I. I liked it. Ending my opponents life gave me a thrill, I was proud, I was...how could I have enjoyed that?!" Shiro choked on a sob. "How could I have been so pleased to take another's life and want to do it again? I'm horrible I am—I'm a monster." He refused to look up at his lion, feeling dirty even touching him.

He tainted everything he touched, destroyed everything he touched. How could this being stand to be around him? Shiro didn't deserve him, didn't deserve any of this. "I think there was a mistake when I was assigned as your paladin. I don't, I shouldn't be—I'm not the right person."

Black couldn't contain the dark growl that rose from their chest. " _ **No**_ ," they snarled, forcing Shiro's head up to pin him with their gaze. "You are mistaken, you were not assigned, we choose our Paladins. I _chose_ you, you are _mine_."

"I don't deserve this, I should've—"

"What do you deserve then?" Black interrupted him harshly.

Shiro's voice shook as he responded quietly. "I should've died in the arena."

Suddenly his mind was flooded with such a strong torrid of emotions it left him gasping, clinging to Black's shirt as he was bombarded. Anger and power hot with injustice filled him, sorrow and sympathy on their heels with a thirst for revenge threading into it all. But there was also love, a warmth like a thick blanket wrapped around him and an unyielding determination and protectiveness.

Shiro quivered for a moment but the feelings, Black's emotions, weren't directed at him, but for him. He simply lay there with his eyes shut, trying to comprehend it all. "Why, why are you...? For me?"

"Mine." Warm lips pressed to his forehead.

"But I've done horrible things."

"But you would not have had things been different. They were a product of your circumstances and not of choice." Black didn't reduce the strength of their bond, their minds swirling around each other in a full connection Shiro usually only experienced when flying the black lion. "You did bad things, but you are not a bad person Shiro. You had no control, you regret what has happened, those are not the traits of a monster." Silent tears trickled down Shiro's face and he tucked his head down. "You are my paladin, you've always been destined to be mine." Black wiped Shiro's tears gently, cupping Shiro's face. "I know you do not believe me yet, but I will prove it to you. For now, sleep, you've had enough for one night." They cocooned Shiro in both mind and body, pushing him towards sleep. "I will watch over you little one." Shiro dropped off into oblivion, cradled in the embrace of his lion.

  
Shiro woke slowly, a buzz of contentment spreading through him in a way he hadn't experienced since before the Kerberos mission. He was laying on his side pressed up against the still sleeping form of the black lion. Shiro heaved himself up and glanced over Black's shoulder, his brows raising at the time. No wonder he felt good today, he'd slept for three hours more than usual.

After basking in the quiet for a moment Shiro forced himself to get up, managing to crawl over the large, dark form of his lion without waking them. Black still had not woken even after Shiro had finished washing his face and slipping into his day clothes, and Shiro shifted from foot to foot debating whether or not to rouse him.

Perhaps the Voltron lions took after earth lions in the fact that they spent a lot of time sleeping? Shiro wasn't sure but he didn't want to wake his lion after making him put up with his shit last night, so instead he simply left, Black would find him in their own time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you guys enjoyed!

**Author's Note:**

> There was more of this but it's completely unfinished and idk if it ever will be so this is where I cut it off. Hope you guys got something out of this, thanks for reading.


End file.
